Home foreclosure activity has skyrocketed in Santa Fe County in the first half of 2010, according to an analysis by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

While parts of the United States are seeing moderate foreclosure increases or slight declines, Santa Fe County's foreclosure auctions increased from 23 in January to June of 2009 to 77 in the first six months of this year.

And total foreclosure activity, which includes pre-auction short sales and default notices, increased more than 200 percent to 638 actions in the first half of 2010, up from 287 a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

The numbers are still small compared with national markets — in the hardest hit market of Las Vegas, Nev., 1 in every 15 homes is under foreclosure action — but each auction requires a published newspaper notice, and those have garnered attention.

"I did have the same impression that they've spiked recently," said Alan Ball, who publishes a monthly newsletter on residential sales. "One day The New Mexican had in excess of 30 notices."

And with overall home sales improving but still morose, the distressed sales affect the overall market.

In June, almost 22 percent of all sales in Santa Fe County were distressed homes or bank-owned properties, said Peter Kahn, a broker with Santa Fe Realty Partners who last summer predicted a foreclosure wave in Santa Fe.

Today, there are some 2,200 homes listed for sale in the county and 7 percent are either bank-owned or in some pre-foreclosure action, said Kahn.

Foreclosures are especially affecting higher-end properties as just six $1 million-plus homes have been selling each month in the county. For instance, Kahn said, there was a $1.2 million home in Las Campanas that needs about $100,000 of work but now has a price tag of $479,000.

"Last month, two homes sold in Las Campanas and there are 140 on the market," he added.

Frank O'Mahony, who opened up his Evolve Real Estate Santa Fe last year — the worst in at least a decade for home sales here — has done an analysis of the market on his website. He sees inventory rising whenever sales percolate. "There is a huge overhang of people holding back, waiting to put their homes on the market," he said.

RealtyTrac also shows that:

• The average sales price of homes under foreclosure actions in Santa Fe County during the first quarter was $237,564, and the average discounted sales price from the mortgage note was 25 percent. The first-quarter sales represented 11.6 percent of all sales, up from 8 percent in the first quarter of 2009
• The most foreclosure activity in the county was in December 2009 with 170 filings and 11 auctions, followed by July 2009 with 108 filings and 18 auctions. Last month saw 161 actions and 15 auctions with 90 filings and 17 auctions in May.
• The 87507 ZIP code, west of downtown, led June foreclosures with 52 new filings, followed by the 87505 ZIP with 27 and 87501 with 24.

Ball said buyers are still in the driver's seat and have the luxury of treating all sellers as if they're distressed. "Buyers don't have that sense of urgency," he said.

"For the nondistressed homeowner who wants or needs to sell a house, they have a lot of competition," added Kahn.

O'Mahony pointed to a property on Camino del Monte Sol that was priced at $1 million, then reduced to $895,000 and, when priced at $695,000 last week, was under contract in 24 hours.

"There is no shortage of dreamers, people who still want to buy a house in Santa Fe — at the right price," O'Mahony said.

But homes that cannot be priced competitively should be taken off the market. "The way the market is now is the way it's going to be in the foreseeable future," Kahn said. "So if you like your house, stay in it."

Contact Bruce Krasnow at 986-3034 or brucek@sfnewmexican.com.

HOME LOAN FAILURES
Foreclosure filings from January to June 2010:
United States: 1 in 78 housing units, +8.2 percent from 2009
New Mexico: 1 in 138 units, +141 percent
Santa Fe County: 1 in 384 units, +222 percent